…erm, more like millions of Buds.
“Hey Jackie! I need your help in a baking experiment!”
Sure!
“It involves yeast, too.”
Yessssssssss!
So there you have it, Amish Sweet Friendship Bread, Day One (of Ten). So I guess I’ve just received a starter? All day when I was actually in the lab, I would make little trips to the lunchroom to peek at my new yeasty friends. Unfortunately, they’re bubbly but not terribly photogenic.
I got home in the evening and set Bud on my kitchen counter, had dinner and proceeded to do some work. The entire time, I was thinking about how to take care of Bud – was he happy in the one-gallon Ziploc bag? He was certainly very gassy. Maybe I should transfer him to a mason jar that I “kept forgetting” to return to someone since December (I knew I kept forgetting for a reason).
A new home for Bud
Maybe I should put him in the fridge seeing as I feed him (well, my friend fed him) milk on Day 6. Maybe I’m just more sensitive to these things because I was trained as a microbiologist but I’m slightly nervous about something that has milk in it, sitting out on a counter for four days.
Maybe I should treat him like a sourdough starter and feed him flour and water — by weight! — instead of flour and milk on Day 6.
Or maybe I should quit being so motherly already; I’m going to smother him with all the fussing.
Brewster thinks that, given the time, he might just be able to get along with Bud.
Oh, one more thing: on Day 10, I’m supposed to give Bud-the-next-generation to three lucky friends. Let me know if you’re interested. (Not all at once now.)
* * *
Amish Sweet Friendship Bread, Jackie’s Way
started 06/05/09
Day 1 Do nothing with starter Degas starter (mash bag) and transfer to a clean mason jar with the lid loosely screwed on.
Day 2 Mash bag and let out air
Day 3 ” “
Day 4 ” “
Day 5 ” “
Day 6 Add 1 cup flour & 1 cup milk and mash bag
Day 7 Mash bag and let out air
Day 8 ” “
Day 9 ” “
Day 10 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into 3 separate 1 gallon bags. Give one bag and a copy of instructions to three friends.
To the balance, add and mix 1 cup oil, 1/2 cup milk, 3 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla.
In a separate bowl combine and mix: 2 cups flour (opt. 1 cup white and 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour), 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix.
Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into 2 well-greased, sugared bread pans.
Bake at 325F for 1 hour.
A note on my copy says: I added some dried cranberries to mine.
